Our Beloved (pbuh) and giving importance to others

All praise be to God, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God

The Prophet (pbuh) said:

“May the mercy of Allah be on my successors”

The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah, who are your successors?”

He said,

“Those who revive and teach my sunna after my passing”

(In Ibn Rajab’s “The Heirs of the Prophets” (Warathat Al-Anbiya))

Giving Life to the sunnah

The Prophet (pbuh) was sent down to us as a mercy; he was also a human being, and not an Angel, so that we would be motivated to emulate his character. His sunnah is everything from what he did, his habits, and his sayings. He is the beloved of Allah, and therefore should be more beloved to us than ourselves- seeing how he conducted his affairs, how he led his life, the way he treated others is reason enough for anyone, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not, to love him and hold him in the highest esteem.

Unfortunately these days, there are many people who have memorized the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh), but do not act upon them, thereby leaving out a crucial part of this religion, that of following the Messenger’s (pbuh) example:

“Say, ‘If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins; God is most forgiving, most merciful'”

(Surat Al-Imran, 3:31)

We must remember that the Prophet (pbuh) would be the first to do something before telling others to do it; he would not dictate and expect others to do but would lead by example. What he did and said were in order for us to learn, and as the hadith above shows, those who revive the sunnah are the successors of the Prophet (pbuh) himself. A little disclaimer; I send these out not because I already do them, but because I know I have to try :S

So, every week inshAllah, a hadith will be sent about the Prophet’s (pbuh) character, which we can inshAllah ponder over and try to follow it. Another simpler hadith will also be sent out pertaining to outer actions, just so we have a balance! I will try to send them on Monday morning, as we all know that our deeds are displayed every Monday and Thursday, hence why it is good to fast on those days, but also so that what can be there when our books are displayed is that we are trying our best to be like the Prophet (pbuh).

Giving importance to others

Amr ibn Al-Aas narrated:

“The Prophet (pbuh) would give his full attention to even the worst people in order to create warmth between people, and he used to give me so much attention and talk to me until I thought I was the best of the people. So I asked: O Messenger of Allah, am I better or Abu Bakr?

The Prophet (pbuh) replied: Abu Bakr

So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, am I better or Omar?

The Prophet (pbuh) responded: Omar

So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, am I better or Uthman?”

The Prophet (pbuh) said: Uthman

So when I asked and he told me the truth, I wished that I had never asked!”

(At-Tirmidhi)

When the Prophet (pbuh) spoke to people or when people talked to him, he would give them his full attention. He greeted people and told them things in such a way that they felt that they must be the closest person to him, or that they were better than the rest. This was simply because he gave people their due importance. The hadith above shows, that even though there were Companions who were better than Amr ibn Al-Aas (ra), the Prophet (pbuh) treated him with such kindness and respect that he thought that he must have been the best of them.

This is what people saw of the characteristics of the Prophet (pbuh)- unfortunately nowadays we see too often people, Muslims, family members ignoring one another and belittling each other, just because they are not seen to be worth one’s time, or because they are tired/not in the mood. But who had more worries than the Prophet (pbuh), and yet he still found the time to be courteous and kind to all those around him.

As for the easy bit:

“Eat together and read “Bismillah” (in the name of Allah), in this, there is blessing for you.”

(Ahmad, Abi Dawood, Ibn Majah)

May we always be reminded of our Beloved, and may Allah aid us in emulating the characteristics of the Prophet (pbuh). And may we be of the people who are neighbors of the Prophet (pbuh) in Paradise. Ameen.